"Why?" A faint trace of anger flickered in Gwen's bright eyes, but mostly, there was confusion.
The anger stemmed mainly from Mark's solo risky venture.
Her current strength wasn't lacking. At least among the Spider-Men they had encountered so far, she was definitely one of the best.
As his lover, she felt that when Mark was about to undertake something so dangerous, it was necessary for her to share the risk with him.
It wasn't stubbornness but something she believed she had to do.
There were no other reasons.
Mark shook his head slightly, "It's not that your abilities wouldn't help me, but my goal is solely to save people, not to fight. Each of the inheritor members has countless clones, infinite revivals, and fighting them is meaningless. So, it's more convenient for me to go alone."
Gwen nodded slightly, sinking into thought.
Mark continued, "Most importantly, I'm not sure if my Fate powers acting on you could completely conceal your Spider Totem. The inheritors has a high ability to trace the aura of Spider Totems. If I can't completely hide it, perhaps we might be discovered before getting close to them. That would significantly increase the difficulty of our rescue mission."
Finishing his words, Mark gently tucked a stray strand of her golden hair behind her ear and then cupped her pretty face.
He had one more thing in his heart that he didn't say.
If he took her along, even if they rescued the people, it might put her in their line of sight, and he didn't want her to face such danger.
This was a bit of his selfishness.
The inheritors had a strong control over Spider-Men.
This control didn't come from physical prowess but directly from the soul.
Once caught by them, any Spider-Man couldn't escape their fate of having their soul instantly drained!
So, if possible, he didn't want Gwen to join this war—at least not this early.
"Okay, I understand," Gwen nodded, "Then, take me to Miles' world first. I can research radiation weapons with them."
"Alright," Mark let out a slight sigh of relief.
That was also his intention.
Though he had some confidence in concealing his Spider Totem aura completely using Fate powers, he hadn't tested it and couldn't guarantee if they could follow.
His biggest confidence lay in currently being invincible in this world. Even if someone from the inheritor family followed, he could easily defeat them.
But if Gwen stayed here, there was still a risk of exposure.
Comparatively, the world of the Ultimate Spider-Man was much safer.
There was the Ultimate Spider-Man, Miles, the Prowler, and Octavia in that world. At least, they wouldn't be taken out instantly.
Subsequently, Mark took Gwen to the world of the Ultimate Spider-Man and also checked their research progress.
To his surprise, within just over a month, the Ultimate Spider-Man had already determined their research direction.
There were mainly two types.
One was the Radiation Spider Suit, envisioned to have coils added within the Spider Suit that could release a radiation ring upon activation.
Certainly, every Spider-Man has their own Spider Suit, so it will be a simple modification when the time comes.
However, the Ultimate Spider-Man also took into consideration the issue of Spider-Men fighting in groups. They plan to use beta radiation as a means of radiation waves in the radiation suit.
This is mainly because beta radiation has less penetration power and a closer impact range. Consequently, adding a radiation-resistant coating to the inner layer of the suit can prevent surface radiation from harming oneself or teammates during coordinated combat.
Another type would be the radiation gun.
Of course, it's called a gun, but it's not actually a handgun or similar. The Ultimate Spider-Man envisions it as a device similar to sleeve arrows, which would be mounted on the web shooter.
Because Spider-Men are accustomed to using web shooters in combat, this setup would be easier to handle.
They plan to use gamma rays in the radiation gun.
Gamma rays have strong penetration and are more suitable as a medium to long-range attack method.
However, the specific element to be used as the core filler for these devices is the focus of their research.
Radioactive elements like uranium, thorium, and radium, through continuous rearrangement of protons and neutrons from high energy to low energy, release excess energy, known as "nuclear energy."
Yet, even in the considerably advanced technology of the Ultimate Spider-Man world, they haven't been able to shrink these nuclear reactors to the size of a web shooter.
This is different from Iron Man's Arc Reactor.
The Arc Reactor primarily involves energy conversion, releasing nuclear energy in a different way.
What they are researching involves directly releasing nuclear radiation, which is more dangerous than the former.
Octavia suggested that, similar to her, they could equip each Spider-Man with mechanical tentacles and then modify these mechanical tentacles into emission points for nuclear radiation.
As for the reactor serving as the power source, it could be carried on their backs.
This would be simpler than being attached to the web shooter.
After all, the mechanical tentacles are entirely mechanical in structure, so having an internal path for nuclear radiation would be feasible.
However, everyone carrying several mechanical tentacles is obviously problematic, and most Spider-Men don't have the habit of using mechanical tentacles in combat.
After some thought, Mark decided to keep this as a backup plan.
Subsequently, Mark considered that since he had already decided to formally join the battle, he might as well pay a visit to Toby's Spider's world and bring Doctor Octopus Number One over.
Dr. Octopus Number One already had mastery over artificial sun technology. With the acquisition of Iron Man's Ark Reactor, this aspect of technology was further strengthened. By tweaking the energy conversion formula, they might be able to solve the problems encountered by the Ultimate Spider-Man and his team.
The meeting between Dr. Octopus Number One and Octavia was quite interesting. They were a male and female version of each other, both outstanding scientists, and immediately hit it off. This had everyone, including Mark, Gwen, and the Ultimate Spider-Man, thoroughly amused.
However, this development made Mark contemplate whether he should still honor the promise he made to Dr. Octopus Number One. Initially, when they first met, Dr. Octopus Number One made a request: for Mark's help in reviving his deceased wife.
But evidently, unaware of Mark's many miraculous abilities now, he didn't know that Mark currently had the ability to resurrect his wife! And not just one method, but several.
The first method involved using the Time Stone to directly reverse time in that specific area to several months earlier. The second method was using the Soul Stone and Reality Stone in tandem to directly resurrect her.
However, these stones were all one-time-use consumables, so using them like that seemed a bit wasteful. Besides, judging from Dr. Octopus Number One's demeanor with Octavia, it seemed like he had already moved on from the shadow of losing his wife?
Perhaps it was better to wait, let them get together first, and then resurrect his wife. It would be like putting him through a trial after he's found happiness. By then, he might even have the ability to pluck someone from the timeline without creating a parallel universe.
Mark chuckled to himself at the thought. Dr. Octopus Number One didn't sense any ill intent from Mark; he was in high spirits at the moment.
As the saying goes, when men and women collaborate, work becomes effortless. And when these "men and women" are two Dr. Octopuses, it's just double the joy!
Both were thoroughly enjoying themselves, to the extent that they even pushed aside the likes of the Ultimate Spider-Man and the others, leaving them speechless.
Nevertheless, the results were clearly evident. According to the Ultimate Spider's estimations, if the progress continued at the current rate, it wouldn't be surprising if they could develop a product applicable to practical combat in about half a year.
With this development, Mark could temporarily put his mind at ease.
In a particular universe, within an ordinary small town, there was a recently popular circus called "Legends" that had caught the attention of many people.
It was said that the star performer in this circus, Peter Parker, was a magical magician. He possessed an incredible skill called "[Web Weaving]"—he could spit out resilient spider silk from his hands and weave it into any shape. He could also perform extraordinary feats like walking on walls and executing many high-difficulty actions that defied human capabilities.
This town was the 66th stop on the world tour of the Legendary Circus.
"Parkour, Parkour!"
"The Web Master!"
"The Magical Weaver!"
The audience below erupted in enthusiastic cheers and applause.
Clad in his distinct red and blue Spider performance suit, Peter Parker kissed his girlfriend, Mary Ann Jane Watson, daughter of the circus ringmaster, gently before leaving, "I'll be right back, my sweetheart~"
"Go on, my little tiger, you got this~" Mary Ann, also dressed in a form-fitting performance suit, with her auburn hair tied into a twisted braid falling behind her head, looked at Peter affectionately as he departed.
Amidst the audience's cheers, the fully geared-up circus Spider-Man made a brilliant entrance! He started with a leaping somersault, spinning several times in the air, before landing solidly at the center of the stage.
This high-difficulty maneuver executed without any external aid once again elicited screams and cheers from the audience.
"Parkour, Parkour, Amazing Parkour!"
"Spider-Man!"
The circus Spider-Man looked confidently down below, raising his hands and exclaimed, "Hello, residents of Radisson! How are you all doing?"
"We're good!"
"Wow!"
"Less talk, more action, Spider-Man!"
The circus Spider-Man chuckled heartily and commenced his spider silk performance.
However, as he performed "wall running," to the astonishment of the audience, while running up a nearby pillar without any equipment, unexpectedly, a loud rumble!
Suddenly, a large hole appeared at the top of the temporary circus theater, and a figure lunged towards the circus Spider-Man.
Although puzzled as to why his spider sense didn't activate, the circus Spider-Man, relying on his excellent reflexes, narrowly avoided the strike.
The next moment, the stage collapsed with a thunderous crash!
°°°
A/N: Sorry for not postinf yesterday, 8 was just so exhausted.
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